Mary had a little lamb a la Tchaikovsky
Garrett Harris 10:11 p.m., May 23
Big Screen Entries for December, 2011
Review: Outrage
The Beat is on! Takeshi Kitano (aka Beat Takeshi), the Japanese director, comedian, singer, actor, editor, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, ...
The Cinephile Jew and His Christian Sidekick Come Under Fire
Letters, we get letters. Young Scotty falls off a bicycle and breaks his arm. With the plaster on my cast ...
New Photos from The Avengers!
Yeah, we're not that excited, either - and the jokes show it. But sometimes, you gotta take the easy shots...
Reviews!
This week, Steven Spielberg decides to ignore W.C. Fields' dictum of "Never work with children or animals," and includes both ...
Sigh. A Closer Look at the Trailer for Madagascar 3
Or: a lesson in creative bankruptcy. For starters, there is a certain sadness about a third installment. Your initial film ...
Fishbone Documentary Screening with Filmmaker Q&A January 12
The documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone, about the band Fishbone and narrated by Laurence Fishburne, will be screening ...
Dig A Hole: Mr. Carol Channing
Two questions I never thought I'd be contemplating when I awoke this morning: "Cheeta was still alive?" and "Carol Channing ...
Dig A Hole: Cheeta, Tarzan's Prime Mate
Cheeta, the most famous monkey ever to swing on Hollywood and Vine, is dead. Tarzan's tippling, chain-smoking sidekick was said ...
Blogfight!
Mr. Marks is one of San Diego's foremost critics. Specifically, he's one of our four most grumpy critics. Zing! Thanks, ...
25 Titles Added to National Film Registry
Films are selected to join the National Film Registry based on their “culturally, historically, or aesthetically” importance. Note the billing: ...
The Ten Worst Films of 2011
You know it’s been a bad year for movies when neither Tintinnitus or War Hearse crack my bottom ten. Try ...
Merry Christmas from Your Pals at The Big Screen
The greatest joy this lapsed Chicagoan finds in a San Diego Christmas will always be an ability to walk around ...
Review: Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
What should have been a mini-documentary bonus feature on a Sesame Street DVD instead becomes a Christmas release strictly for ...
World's Largest Cataloged Archive of Mexican Lobby Cards for Sale
World’s Largest Cataloged Archive: From a Regional Film Archive in Mexico, that had serviced twenty theatres over a 50 year ...
Cliff's Notes on Lickona & Marks' Joy to the Screen
It is a momentous day. Not only will Hugo be held over for another week, but today marks Marks' (with ...
Reviews!
All I want for Christmas/Reviews...maybe this year, Santa will bring me a weekly three-way podcast wherein I can discuss films ...
China and Christmas
Another tidbit dropped from the heaped-up holiday table that is The Big Screen's Debut Cover Story: for reasons of both ...
Ta-Da!
Well, now, looky here: The Magic of Cinema meets The Magic of Christmas, as illuminated by a cinephile Jew and ...
Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
For years, it has been my strict policy to never read a review until after I’ve seen the movie. Decades ...
Disney Rakes in the Hanukkah Gelt
Disney and Hanukkah: the two go together like a pork loin roast and a glass of eggnog. I'm all for ...
Lazy Day Continues!
Notable Quote Whore Pete Hammond joins in the lazy good times with this gem in the YouTube banner ad for ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Jack the Giant Killer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTIJRj_hRao It's Lazy Day here at The Big Screen, and to start things off, we have the laziest intro to ...
A Sidelong Look at the Trailer for The Hobbit
So the trailer for The Hobbit is out today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0k3kHtyoqc Seems solid, if you're into that sort of thing. Which ...
San Diego Latino Film Festival Unveils Finalists for 2012 Poster Competition
The finalists for the 2012 San Diego Latino Film Festival poster competition are now on public display. The festival received ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Wrath of the Titans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs7fzOrUopc Hoo! Really, what is there to say? Except maybe this?
Ridley Scott Brings Out the Crass Fourth-Grader in Me
So a couple of days ago, I expressed a measure of surprise that the release of a teaser trailer could ...
The Movie-Studio Logo Quiz: A New Beginning
I wanted so much to bring you a holiday edition of The Movie-Studio Logo Quiz, but alas, all I could ...
The Dark Knight Rises: Christopher Nolan's Keen Sense of Social Commentary
How could have have known? He's Christopher Nolan, that's how. (Trailer here.)
The Dark Knight Rises: Proof that Bane's Momma Didn't Love Him
T-Shirt available here. Don't let your child grow up to be like Bane.
A Closer Look at the Trailer for The Dark Knight Rises
The trailer is here. The analysis starts...now. Apparently, director Christopher Nolan is finally ready to tackle the whole Bruce-Alfred issue. ...
Great Moments in Celebrity Broadloom
The Pie Wedge. The Malone aka Tufted Polypropylene. The Claudette Colbert. Shemp aka The Hooker Hitching Post. The Set-It-And-Forget-It aka ...
We Need a Little Christmas Music
It's Christmas, so why not spread Yuletide cheer with a plug for my pal, former student turned eternal teacher, Rob ...
Review: Young Adult
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_-v7dEEoo Ah, never mind. The capsule does a decent enough job. Just a couple of things. First: good gravy, was ...
Support Your Local Film Festival and Art House: Give the Gift of Movies
Just a reminder that there is no better time than Christmas to give the gift of quality cinema. Why throw ...
Review: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Remember the Russians? No, no – not the Russian mobsters from The Sopranos, those free-market capitalists extraordinaire who threatened to ...
Great Moments in Celebrity Hair
Lickona's going to come through with some quality writing any minute now. In the meantime, I'm still off riding the ...
Review: Alvin & The Chimpmunks: Chipwrecked
SCENE: The bowels of the Hollywood Sequel Building, Kiddie Division. Screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger have finished their monthly ...
A Dusting of Dandruff from The Reader Christmas Party
Wednesday night saw the first of what I hope will be many appearances at the annual Reader Christmas party. Once ...
A Closer, er, Wider Look at the Trailer for Men in Black 3: The Blackening
No, that's not the real title. And you know what else? I'm not going to post the trailer here. You ...
Overheard: Spielberg and a Very Method-y Daniel Day-Lewis on the Set of Lincoln
I'm guessing it's gonna come when he visits Antietam... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS5W4RxGv4s
Golden Globe Nominations Spark "Scorsez" Snub!
Fighting off a hangover brought on by having too much fun at last night's Reader Christmas party, I awake to ...
Reviews!
Critic fight! Big Screen blogger Scott Marks was none too fond of The Artist, calling it a "middling technical exercise" ...
A Chimp, a Kidpic, and a Technical Exercise Take Home San Diego Film Critics Society Top Honors
Any chance of Marty coming through town to accept the award He so richly deserves was dashed in favor of ...
Cliche Alert: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows
Yeah, yeah, I know, it's not out yet. So no spoilers. But if you had to guess whether our bad ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for The Dictator
After seeing this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXLuExO6j8Q ...you may find yourself wondering, "What the hell happened to Sacha Baron Cohen? The guy who ...
Part 7: Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen (Exclusive)
Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen Part 7 Here's the latest from our never-published private collection of movie poster ...
San Diego Asian Film Foundation Screens A Good Husband Tonight
The San Diego Asian Film Foundation holds its final quarterly screening of the year tonight. Isao Yukisada's ambrosial drama of ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation
I knew it was a mistake to mention G.I. Joe yesterday...speak of the sequel, and it is there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSX2oxLdcWA Only ...
Orson Welles's Oscar for Citizen Kane Back on the Auction Block
What a way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of what many consider the greatest motion picture of all time. The ...
Hope for the Holidays
What would Christmas be without Bob Hope? I'll have a lot more to say about Old Ski Noses' uncanny ability ...
New Poster for The Dark Knight Falls, er, Rises
The new poster for The Dark Knight Rises rather reminds me of another dark knight... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4
San Diego Film Critics Society Announces 2011 Nominations
This year's "think lists" -- each member of the San Diego Film Critics Society submits a slate of suggested nominees ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Battleship
Really, everything you need to know is right here: But just in case, here are a couple of bonus screen ...
Review: The Sitter
The Sitter opens with Jonah Hill performing oral sex on Ari Graynor. Talk about trying hard to establish a fantasy ...
Texas Instruments Predicts All-Digital Projection by 2015
During my first ten years living in San Diego, I could count on two hands the number of times a ...
Dig A Hole: Harry Morgan
Though they look nothing alike, it remained a major point of childhood consternation. Did Harry Morgan lend Cara Williams henpecked-support ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actually, you know what? No. I'm gonna let this guy do this one.
Oh, Please
Every year or so, the New York Times pretends not to be trading on purest celebrity appeal by doing one ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for The Three Stooges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4IoUo_ZJkY&feature=relmfu I dunno, guys. Only five eye-pokes in a nearly two-minute trailer? I have to question the Farrellys' commitment to ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for The Five-Year Engagement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRF_Bzuwtk Don't look now, but this trailer actually contains a secret, subliminal message especially for readers of the Big Screen!
Part 6: Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen (Exclusive)
Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen Part 6 Today's unpublished rarities from our stash of movie poster concept designs ...
Reviews!
So I went and saw Shame: "Shame succeeds less as a work of dramatic fiction than of cinematic pathology. Sort ...
Spend Christmas Night With Three Men (Two Tramps, One King) in a Tub
Another day, another delightful holiday oddity from the imaginative animation stands at Van Beuren Studios Trust me on this -- ...
The Holiday Inn Christmas Tree Dissolve
A shameless plug. Holiday Inn, the delightful Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby musical for all seasons, is one of the ...
Movie Theatres to Encourage Texting?
It looks as though I'm going to have to start packing a ball peen hammer in my movie theatre survival ...
A Christmas Opening Night at the Opera House
By the time Amedee J. Van Beuren got around to heading up his own studio, the animated film producer already ...
Christmas Is Coming...
...and that means (as previously noted) another Christmas cover! Marks set the bar perilously high with his first post, so ...
Bud, the Bickle We Knew!
Comedy and Tragedy: The Two Faces of Bud. The generally accepted consensus among Scorsese proselytes cites this sequence, from John ...
Part 5: Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen (Exclusive)
Famous Movie Poster Rejects You've Never Seen Part 5 Hey again, we're back with more never-seen rejected movie posters, from ...
Vote the Citizen Cain/Mindy McCready Ticket!
Sorry for the PhotoShop rush-job, but Herman and Mindy move so fast these days. You get the point.
Reviews!
Good tidings, people. David Elliott is fond of Hugo -- not as fond as Mr. Marks perhaps, but then, it's ...
Oh Le Olady Olady I Oh, It's Hardrock, and Coco, and Joe!
A few months ago, my editor -- the hopelessly misnamed Ernie Grimm -- asked if Mr. Lickona and I would ...
Speaking of Awesome Film Posters...
Big Screen contributor Jay Allen Sanford has been doing yeoman work with his series on unreleased movie posters. Movie poster ...
A Closer Look at the Trailer for John Carter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tystuRBlmac Mercy, but that looks bad/boring/derivative. And the writing! "You are ugly...but you are beautiful." "That don't look like a ...
More Fun with The Great Gatsby
Progress continues apace on Baz Luhrmann's adaptation, and new set photos continue to trickle onto the web, including these of ...
TV or Not TV: Number of Households with Sets Drops
For the first time since the Nielsen Company began compiling data in 1970, the number of American households with television ...
